Movies: Yoshihiro Katō

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making"...

Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his a...

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home....

Ryōko Itakura returns as the tough-as-nails government taxing agent. This time she must figure out a way to expose a fanatical religious cult lead by a corrupt sociopath....

Vain, middle-aged actress Biwako is placed in witness protection while authorities investigate the brutal murder she witnessed. Under the watch of two dedicated cops, Biwako struggles to maintain her career, her public image, and her personal life as...

A successful Japanese movie director in his sixties becomes increasingly ill while working on his latest film. Though his family, friends, and doctor try to keep the secret of his terminal cancer from him, Buhei gradually comes to realize the truth o...

A sendup of the stereotypical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife; the older son is a moderate academic success; but the younger son is a rebellious goof-off for whom a tutor must be hired...

The life and travels of adventurer Naomi Uemura, who disappeared in Alaska in 1984. A member of the first Japanese expedition to reach the summit of Mt Everest in 1970, Uemura also accomplished several "firsts". He was the first man to reach the Nort...

The film stars two of Itami's regular actors, Nobuko Miyamoto as a geisha who brings luck to the men with whom she sleeps, and Masahiko Tsugawa as her unfaithful, sometimes partner. As well as showing her relationships with the man she loves and the ...

Naomi is a university student who is leaving for the US to study in a week; Shuichi is a washed-up gumshoe who's hired by Naomi's father to bodygard his daughter until she leaves. Shuichi finds the job annoying and wants to quit. But he also has a sc...

Mori Kojiro, a member of the Akō Ronin, fails to identify Kira Kozukenosuke before their attack and is publicly banished by Ōishi Kuranosuke. Ōishi later apologizes privately, revealing that Kira has a decoy and assigning Mori a secret mission to kil...

The film opens as a jury is about to acquit a defendant -- a bar hostess who pushed her ex-husband path of an oncoming truck, supposedly in self-defense. Just as everyone seems to be in agreement over the woman's innocence, one juror voices second th...

Yuichi Koga is an upper-class business executive, running his own adult video company, and living a successful life with his wife and daughter. Outwardly, his family seems really happy, but in reality Yuichi enjoys sex with everyone but his wife Chik...

Tetsuro Haga is a troubled gangster, living under the assumed identity Ise for ten years, to escape jail for gunning down his cruel adoptive father. His life begins to unravel when a journalist following him takes an interest in the wife of a boyhood...

After watching her friend fall from a building a depressed high school girl runs away from home. When she is picked up by a nice guy on a phone date she realizes too late that he has plans to use her for his own ends....

Tatsuhiko and Shofumi are hoodlums living in downtown Hawaii, having flown out of Japan and entered the country illegally for a reason. The two make a living by trafficking pakalolo – marijuana – under the pretext of selling tea leaves, but they are ...

A stylish light comedy about the “Banana boys”— two boys who were born and raised in Roppongi who are still growing up. It is based on the light novel of the same name written by Takashi Kitajima...

A kindergarten teacher meets a novice magician and together they travel to another city to find love....

A homeless man suffering from memory loss is unbeatable in a fight. He becomes involved with the Yakuza. It is based on a manga by Carib Marley....

When a hard-driving copywriter (Hiroyuki Sanada) discovers his comely wife (Keiko Saito) is involved in a scintillating game of strip rock-paper-scissors with some guy clad only in a pair of boxer shorts and Mickey Mouse ears, he is less than happy. ...